


it's three miles to the river that would carry me away

by heterocosmica



Series: 15 minute fics [40]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fifteen Minute Fic, Gen, Near Death Experiences, Pre-Season/Series 01, Suicidal Thoughts, how you'd like to see them is up to you, i intended them to be 12/13 here but, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22056154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heterocosmica/pseuds/heterocosmica
Summary: Willow almost drowns.
Relationships: Faith Lehane & Willow Rosenberg
Series: 15 minute fics [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1242938
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	it's three miles to the river that would carry me away

**Author's Note:**

> Done for the 15 minute fics prompt word #37 on pillowfort.

The river is cold but it moves so quickly over her sun warmed skin that it feels like an embrace as she takes a step into it.

With her head held high, she looks at the mountains ahead of her, lush and green from the thick woods all around, glowing from the sun kissing the peak in the East, rising slowly to bring the new day. The sky is glowing orange above her and she breathes in the smell of a summer morning slowly, letting it fill her completely, bringing with it the feeling of content and peace.

She takes a step deeper into the river, feeling the strong current pull at her knees as her toes start sinking into the mud. There is something sharp near her left big toe and she leans into it, searching it out with her foot. As her foot comes towards it, it shifts and her leg falls through, making her lose her balance.

Suddenly, she's under the cold water, her linen dress pulling her along with the current, down into a whirlpool, and she tries her hardest to swim away, to pull herself out as well as her skinny little arms will allow, but the river is so strong and so cold and it almost feels comforting to let the current take her, pull her down. To let herself become a part of this place forever.

And then there are bony arms pulling at her, tearing through the water as if it were air. An elbow digs into her ribs. A knee knocks into her stomach at one point. But, quickly, she is out on the grass, wet and coughing and feeling oh so cold in the morning mountain air.

There is a girl above her, on all fours, coughing into her face as tendrils of brown hair fall into Willow's eyes.

"Are you stupid?" The girl says once they both catch their breaths, and Willow blinks, shakes her head to clear it, stares at the girl's face with wide eyes.

"Probably." She says. "And you, you're probably insane."

The girl laughs, dropping down on top of Willow and pressing her face into Willow's neck.

"You smell like strawberries" She says.

Slowly, Willow rises her arms to hug the girl, and, with her vision flooded with brown hair, whispers. "Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I had this whole huge AU planned and plotted out last year, and I even had a good chunk of it written, but then my computer crashed and I lost all of it so I kinda gave up on the thought. But it's been kicking around my head since so this is kinda a scene from it. If anyone's actually interested in the whole thing, I might start writing it again. It was basically a whole thing of "What if Faith got to Sunnydale before Buffy?" and there was supposed to be Jesse as an actual character/friend, little Faith and Willow and Xander and Jesse fighting demons but, like, accidentally, Spike and Dru coming to Sunnydale before Angel, and the going through the show timeline but with these changes.  
> Also, it would be a lot more plot heavy than my stuff usually is and Willow/Faith would be endgame but a very, very slow burn one.  
> You know what, I might just write it anyway, I think I've talked myself into it.  
> But, you know, if you're interested and want to let me talk at you about it either way, feel free to hit me up on tumblr or pillowfort, my username is the same as on here.


End file.
